Planning Board OKs $35M Balsams Grand Resort renovation

The Coos County Planning Board unanimously approved a building permit that allows the new owners of the Balsams Grand Resort to start construction on a $35 million renovation of the historic hotel.

The new owners say they are still looking to raise money to pay for the renovations before bulldozers can start to roll.

Plans that were approved on Tuesday night call for 149 rooms, a larger conference center and an indoor/outdoor swimming pool spread across 200,000 square feet. That’s almost half the size of the shuttered hotel’s current footprint, but a spokesman said it will allow the new owners to focus on creating high-end property.

“The big idea here is we are taking the old historic hotel and bringing it up to 2013 standards,” said Balsams spokesman Scott Tranchemontagne. “All these things you come to expect at a resort that didn't exist at the Balsams before -- we're putting a lot of effort into that.”

Construction will take place in phases and will be overseen by the state fire marshal’s office, which has the resources to monitor a project that size.

Tranchemontagne said before any construction begins they are still looking for a significant investment from an outside person or group.

"We’re still looking for a white knight to invest in some equity,” he said. “Having the building permit in hand makes it easier to find investors because it makes the project more real.”

North Country businessmen Dan Hebert and Dan Dagasse bought the property from the Tillotson Corp in Dec. 2011 for $2.3 million. Shortly afterward, they held an auction to sell most of the property’s beds, chairs, tables, memorabilia, a chairlift and a biomass plant.

They originally hoped to have the hotel opened by this summer.

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